Just a Spoonful of Sugar
by Dagobert Cel Ash
Summary: A story still in the making-- A girl who became homeless at a young age has been taken in by the Curtis brothers and her past is catching up to her.
1. Ch 1: Feeling Lonely

NOTE:  S. E. Hinton owns all characters except for Sugar, who is my own creation.  Also, the events are my own too.  Enjoy!

One Friday, as I was walking home from school, I noticed someone lying in the vacant lot.  I approached them to find that it was Sugar.  She looked sad.  I walked around her as she watched me with her glassy blue eyes. 

"Pony…" she whispered. I dropped down beside her and she suddenly began crying. I'd never seen her cry like this before.  Actually, I'd never seen her cry at all and seeing her cry now scared me. 

"Sugar,' I said softly, rubbing her shoulder, "Are you okay?"  

"Oh, Ponyboy, just hold my hand for a while, I'll be alright soon."  So, I lied down beside her and held her hand as she laid her head on my chest.  

"Ponyboy, what am I to you?" she asked finally.  

"Sugar, what are you talking about?"  

"Tell me what I mean to you."  

"Well your part of the gang and…"  

"Oh, Pony, I'm just some homeless hood that carries a blade and hides from everything!  I'm never gonna get anywhere!"  She started crying again.  

"No!"  I said, "That's not true!  You're pretty and nice and a wonderful friend and a great actor and are the only one that can really understand me except Soda!"  

"Really, Pony?  I'm all those things?"  

"Of course you are, Sugar."  

"And you love me, right?"  

"Yeah, course I love you."  

She laid a kiss on my cheek and I held her hand again.  

After a while, I said, "Soda's cooking supper tonight, wanna go see what he's made up?"  

"Sure, why not?" she replied as we stood up and walked to the house.  

When we walked in Soda was cooking up some strange colored noodles while Darry sat watching TV.  Sugar plopped down next to him on the couch next to Darry as he flipped through the channels.  

I sat at the table and talked to Soda.  

"Ponyboy!"  Sugar yelled as she pulled the TV remote out of Darry's hands.  "When you gonna teach me how to read that book of yours?"  She got up and ran around the couch and Darry started wrestling playfully with her.  

"How 'bout now?" I hollered back and walked towards my room.  

Sugar and Darry rolled into my path and pulled me down.  I joined them in rolling around on the floor.  Unknowingly, we rolled into the kitchen and Soda tripped over us, throwing blue noodles everywhere.  Then there were four of us rolling on the floor.  I noticed Sugar roll away from the tussle to lay panting hard against the wall.  I got off Darry's stomach and went to sit next to her.  

"You feeling alright?" I asked.  

"Yeah, I just ain't got much sleep lately.  Plus, I got this!"  She showed me the remote, and rose to her feet.  "Get thee hence, those who fight for nothing.  Hail the queen of the remote!"  Soda made a lunge for her, but she dodged him, running to the couch again.  

"Hey, I don't know about you, Pony, but I'm starving!" Darry said, rising and pulling some leftover chicken and chocolate cake out of the refrigerator.  Soda and Sugar ran into the room and grabbed a seat at the table as Darry passed them some cake.

After supper, Sugar and I went to look at my book.  I searched in the drawers for it in me and Soda's room but when I turned around Sugar was dead asleep on the bed.  I pulled off her makeshift sandals, covered her with a blanket and tiptoed out of the room.

I slept next to Sugar that night, since Soda had chosen to sleep on the couch instead of waking her up, and shortly after midnight sometime, something called me out of deep sleep.  I sat and listened to the darkness, not knowing what had wakened me.  

I about fell out of the bed when I heard Sugar cry out, "No!  No, Daddy!  Don't hit Mommy!  Mommy!!"  She thrashed around on the bed and then jolted awake.  

"Ponyboy…  Oh Pony…" she gasped and climbed out of the bed.  By this time both Darry and Soda were awake and she went to sit in Darry's lap in front of the couch.  Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably as Darry rubbed her arms and Soda patted her hand.  

When she finally stopped crying she started her story, "You know I didn't have a name before your mother found me?  I'd been out on my own since before I could remember.  She was the most beautiful and the nicest person I've ever met.  You know why I didn't come to the funeral?  I was scared, hiding from it all. I was real scared. I still am, scared of losing too many things. I guess it comes from when I was real little, before I went street. It was the reason I ran off and it has haunted me to this day. I remember it vaguely, my father beat my mother, and I couldn't have been more then seven at the time. That one time he was beating her real bad I knew I had to stop him cause somethin' bad was gonna happen.  I couldn't though, and the next thing I remember was seeing her lying there, not moving and I screamed at Daddy and ran off."  She had to stop to keep form crying, but the tears came anyway.  "I can't run, I can't hide!  I can't even face it!  What am I gonna do?"  

"Shhhh, Sugar…" Darry whispered, "Don't cry anymore, babyface, it'll be all right."  He brushed away her tears.  "We'll be here for you."  She leaned back into his arms and closed her eyes, shutting out the tears as Soda and I held both her hands.

"Why can't I jump 'em?"  I heard Steve say off to the distance.  "Cause I said so," Two-bit replied, "Come on, lets go whip up something for breakfast."  I heard a crash and a thud.  

Good ol' Two-bit, I thought, rising, stiff legged to walk to the kitchen.  

"Hey there Pony!"

NOTE:  Sorry, but I haven't had time to finish this part yet…  Post or read on…


	2. Ch 2: Driving Around

NOTE:  This part does not take place directly after the last chapter, it actually happens at a different time, I am just lazy and don't have time to write any today :(

…

We were driving along in Steve's car, Soda, Sugar, and me, when suddenly someone came out in front of us at top speed out of the alley.  Soda swerved so we wouldn't hit them, but the back of our car spun and slammed into the front of the other car.  

The driver jumped out and so did Soda.  The driver of the other car turned out to be a drunk Soc.  He was alone, which surprised me, mostly they come in groups, and he wasn't even in Soc territory.  

"Must of murdered his buddies and stole their beer," Sugar joked, apparently thinking the same as I. 

Our car was wrecked more than the Soc's, but since he was drunk, he was raving.  

"Hey look man," Soda was saying, "you bring your car by my shop sometime and I'll give it a go around for free."  

The Soc muttered something and then said, "Ain't gonna let no stupid greaser lay a hand on my car."  

"Fine, then, have it that way."  

The Soc again, "You wanna fight me greaser?!"  

Sugar jumped out of the car and grabbed Soda's arm.  "Hey, Soda let's just give him some cash and get outta here.  This ain't something to be fighting over."  

"Greaser!" the Soc yelled, "I'll tell you what you can give me a go around with! You let me have good time with that foxy broad of yours and I'll let you off clean."  

Sugar blew up.  She ran up to the Soc and placed her fist firmly into his cheek.  His hands flew up to his face and Sugar gave him another good one in the stomach.  Then she ran back toward the car, grabbing Soda and jumping into the driver's seat.  We sped off crazily.  

Sugar pulled off into an empty parking lot, stopped the car and got out.  

"What were you thinking?" Soda asked.  I was thinking the same thing.  She threw her arms around Soda's neck and buried her face into his shoulder.  Then Sugar looked up and instead of crying, as I believed her to be, she was laughing.  Soda looked at me and we both started laughing too.  

"Man, I don't know what got into me, but that was the most fun I ever had in my life!"


End file.
